---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Military intelligence is a contradiction…"
description: "\"Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.\" — Groucho Marx"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/groucho-marx-788_contradiction_military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction_1170342.jpg"
---

#  Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.

![“Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.” quote by Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/groucho-marx-788_contradiction_military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction_1170342.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/groucho-marx-788_contradiction_military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction_1170342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/groucho-marx-788_contradiction_military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction_1170342.jpg)

> “Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.”

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Military intelligence is paradoxical, implying secrecy within a field meant to gather information.

**In simple terms:** Intelligence in the military seems contradictory.

Key Takeaway

Question the term’s logic.

Themes

paradox military information

Mood

satirical critical

Type

humorous philosophical

When to use this quote

- policy analysis
- military training
- media satire

Key Concepts

irony semantic critique

Questions to Reflect On

- Is the paradox humorous or critical?
- What does it reveal about secrecy?

A Different Perspective

May overlook genuine intelligence work.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Intelligence Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence-contradiction-1104375/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-intelligence/)

## Related quotes

> [“Ken appeared, was taller than she, wanted her, was acceptable and accepted on all sides; similarly, nagging mathematical problems abruptly crack open. Foxy could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/ken-appeared-was-taller-than-she-wanted-her-was-acceptable-and/)

[John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/)

> [Military intelligence is a meaningless phrase because the two words are mutually exclusive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-kallen/military-intelligence-is-a-meaningless-phrase-because-the-two-words/)

[Lucille Kallen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-kallen/)

> [Air power alone does not guarantee America's security, but I believe it best exploits the nation's greatest asset - our technical skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoyt-vandenberg/air-power-alone-does-not-guarantee-america-s-security-but-i-believe/)

[Hoyt Vandenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoyt-vandenberg/)

> [“Some folks may be really bummed to find that "God bless America" does not appear in the Bible. So often we do things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/some-folks-may-be-really-bummed-to-find-that-god-bless-america-does/)

[Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/)

> [With Fancy Bear, we have medium-level confidence it's GRU, which is Russia's military intelligence agency, and with Cozy Bear, we have low-level confidence it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmitri-alperovitch/with-fancy-bear-we-have-medium-level-confidence-it-s-gru-which-is/)

[Dmitri Alperovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmitri-alperovitch/)

> [The fact is that a car used by Gerry Adams and myself during the course of the Mitchell review was bugged by elements within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcguinness/the-fact-is-that-a-car-used-by-gerry-adams-and-myself-during-the/)

[Martin McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcguinness/)

> [“That summer, Lee Harvey Oswald handed out pro-Castro literature stamped with the address 544 Camp Street, a commercial building. This was a blunder because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-brussell/that-summer-lee-harvey-oswald-handed-out-pro-castro-literature/)

[Mae Brussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-brussell/)

> [ Did you follow what \[General Yehoshafat\] Harkabi wrote? Formerly of the Israeli military intelligence service. Remember him? Did you follow what he wrote? He… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/did-you-follow-what-general-yehoshafat-harkabi-wrote-formerly-of-the/)

[Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/)

> [Military intelligence, two words combined that cant make sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-mustaine/military-intelligence-two-words-combined-that-cant-make-sense/)

[Dave Mustaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-mustaine/)

> [Anne Arundel County has become the world's epicenter of military intelligence and defense-related information technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-leopold/anne-arundel-county-has-become-the-world-s-epicenter-of-military/)

[John R. Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-leopold/)

> [“Baldessh has no intelligence apparatus. No spies, no automated surveillance, nothing. I have it on very good authority." <"Maybe they're just so good that we haven't heard of them?" "Don't be stupid." --Transcript, Kovan Flagship:"Exchange between Head of Military Intelligence and Kovan Warlord, FTL, Space. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-mercer/baldessh-has-no-intelligence-apparatus-no-spies-no-automated/)

[Aldous Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-mercer/)

> [The military intelligence. Two words combined that can't make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megadeth/the-military-intelligence-two-words-combined-that-can-t-make-sense/)

[Megadeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megadeth/)

> [“On October 1, 2009, a general took charge of the new U.S. Cyber Command, a military organization with the mission to use information technology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-clarke/on-october-1-2009-a-general-took-charge-of-the-new-u-s-cyber-command/)

[Richard A. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-clarke/)

> [“Jabir listened but was not convinced.  “Iraq and Iran haven’t gotten along for many centuries. Why should we now?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-braungart/jabir-listened-but-was-not-convinced-iraq-and-iran-haven-t-gotten/)

[Karl Braungart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-braungart/)

> [“The highest ranking Russian intelligence officer to defect from Russia, Stanislav Lunev, testified at a Congressional hearing held in California in January, 2000. Before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/the-highest-ranking-russian-intelligence-officer-to-defect-from/)

[John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/)

## More by Groucho Marx

> [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [Television is where you watch people in your living room that you would not want near your house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/television-is-where-you-watch-people-in-your-living-room-that-you/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [ He \[Groucho's father\] had absolutely no training, and if you had ever seen one of his suits, you'd realize what an accurate statement that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/he-groucho-s-father-had-absolutely-no-training-and-if-you-had-ever/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [Women should be obscene and not heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/women-should-be-obscene-and-not-heard/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [Why would I want to join an organization that would encourage people like myself to become members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/why-would-i-want-to-join-an-organization-that-would-encourage-people/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and that's not saying much for you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/you-re-the-most-beautiful-woman-i-ve-ever-seen-and-that-s-not-saying/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [The only game I like to play is "Old Maid", providing she's not too old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/the-only-game-i-like-to-play-is-old-maid-providing-she-s-not-too-old/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/who-are-you-going-to-believe-me-or-your-own-eyes/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [My favourite poem is the one that starts 'Thirty days hath September' because it actually tells you something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/my-favourite-poem-is-the-one-that-starts-thirty-days-hath-september/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [Afraid? Me? A man who's licked his weight in wild caterpillars?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/afraid-me-a-man-who-s-licked-his-weight-in-wild-caterpillars/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [I hate London when it's not raining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-hate-london-when-it-s-not-raining/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-never-forget-a-face-but-in-your-case-i-ll-be-glad-to-make-an/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the parlor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/let-there-be-dancing-in-the-streets-drinking-in-the-saloons-and/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [If women dressed for men, the stores wouldn't sell much - just an occasional sun visor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/if-women-dressed-for-men-the-stores-wouldn-t-sell-much-just-an/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

[Explore all 366 Groucho Marx quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

## More Contradiction quotes

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/)

[Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/)

> [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/)

[W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/)

> [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/)

[Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/)

> [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/)

[Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/)

> [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/)

[Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/)

> [“A truth is not necessary, because we negatively are not able to conceive the actual existence of the opposite thereof;but a truth is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-dabney/a-truth-is-not-necessary-because-we-negatively-are-not-able-to/)

[R.L. Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-dabney/)

> [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/)

[James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/)

> [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. It is not considered sufficient that the law should guarantee to every citizen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/here-i-encounter-the-most-popular-fallacy-of-our-times-it-is-not/)

[Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/)

> [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/)

[David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/)

> [The reflection of nature in man's thought must be understood not lifelessly but in the eternal process of movement, the arising of contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/the-reflection-of-nature-in-man-s-thought-must-be-understood-not/)

[Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/)

[Browse all 1,263 Contradiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Groucho Marx"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction-in-terms/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Contradiction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction-in-terms/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/groucho-marx-788_contradiction_military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction_1170342.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/groucho-marx-788_contradiction_military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction_1170342.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad9/groucho-marx-788_contradiction_military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction_1170342.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.” — Groucho Marx",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Groucho Marx",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Military intelligence is a contradiction in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction-in-terms/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/military-intelligence-is-a-contradiction-in-terms/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```